Sabrina Perry

Dr. Priti Haria

EDUC3105

October 2018

Shared Reading Plan

Book Information:

Book: Ten Orange Pumpkins

Author: Stephen Savage

Illustrator: Stephen Savage

Level: Kindergarten/1st Grade

Introduction

Ten Orange Pumpkins is an Autumn theme-related book written and illustrated by

Stephen Savage. This book entails ten orange pumpkins whom disappear one by one and page by

page as the story counts down to a Halloween surprise at the end. Over the course of the story,

the pumpkins encounter a spooky scarecrow, a sly mummy, a bolt of lightning, a ghostly chef, a

bump in the road, two skeleton pirates, an old wise owl, a crafty witch, a sneaky spider, and a

black cat.

Ten Orange Pumpkins should be used for shared reading because it exposes emergent

readers and writers with some of the essential characteristics of text, such as figurative language,

rhyme scheme, repetition, and concepts significantly relevant to the interests of children.

Moreover, this book integrates the mathematical concept of whole numbers from one to ten,

which teaches students number sense as well as counting. The predictability of this book will

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encourage students to actively participate and read along.

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Concept of Print/Book

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1
Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
CCSS.ELA-LITEARCY.RF.K.1.A
Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
CCSS.ELA-LITEARCY.RF.K.1.B
Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
CCSS.ELA-LITEACY.RF.K.1.C
Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.

Activity to Teach Concept of Print/Book: Interactive Book Talk

Begin the interactive Book Talk of Ten Orange Pumpkins with students by introducing

the story. Reveal the title as well as the author’s and illustrator’s name. Ask the students, “What

does an author do?”; “What does an illustrator do?” (Students respond.) Briefly summarize the

plot without giving away the ending. Share with the students why this book was chosen and why

they may be interested in it. Explain to the students that this is an Autumn theme-related book

that incorporates counting and rhymes. Read the following excerpt on large poster board and

accompany it with an illustration from the text: “Ten orange pumpkins, fresh off the vine,

Tonight will be a spooky night.” Furthermore, hold up the book and state, “This is the front of

the book.” Turn it sideways and state, “This is the spine of the book.” Turn the book to the back

cover and state, “This is the back of the book.” Ask the students, “Do we begin reading a book

from the front or the back?” (Students respond.) This exercise will demonstrate appropriate book

handling skills as well as the concepts of a book. Next, state, “Let’s look at the picture on the

front.” Hold up the book with the front cover facing towards the students and ask, “What do you

think will happen in this story? Remember to raise your hand and use complete sentences when

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you respond.” (Students respond.) As the reading of this book takes place, encourage students to

make connections with the words on each page from their personal lives. For instance, the

students may recognize the word “pumpkin,” if they have ever painted one, carved one, or

visited a pumpkin patch before. Encourage students to share a brief story of their experiences

with the words to further connect with the text. Motivate students to point out recognizable

words and say them aloud. Discuss the pictures on each page and try to predict what will happen

next. Point to the words as they are read to demonstrate text directionality, spacing, and

punctuation. After the reading, prompt the students to share with the class whether or not they

liked the story and why, while trying to use complete sentences as they speak. During this

activity, assist students as needed, and informally evaluate their understanding and

comprehension on the concepts of print and book.

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Alphabet Knowledge
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D
Recognize and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Activity to Teach Alphabet Knowledge: Pumpkin Alphabet Project

Present the following video to the students in order to access their prior knowledge of the

alphabet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xcwH07MjCg. The video permits students to

learn their ABC’s as it plays the “Alphabet Halloween Pumpkin Song.” The video shows

pumpkins labeled with each letter of the alphabet moving slowly along a train track, which

allows students to easily sing along. Furthermore, trace and cut pumpkins out of orange

cardstock paper in order to resemble one of the pumpkins from the storybook. Write and evenly

space the letters of the alphabet in their uppercase and lowercase forms all around the pumpkin.

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(The top of the letters will face the center of the pumpkin.) Each student will receive a pumpkin

as well as a miniature hole puncher in order to complete this activity. Model and guide students

on the proper use of a hole puncher. (If this specific tool does not work, substitute the hole

punchers for a pair of scissors.) State a letter and distinguish its form. For example, “Please find

the uppercase letter A.” Students will then be expected to hole punch the correct letter and its

form. (Students may refer to the alphabet displayed in the classroom for help.) This activity also

improves on students’ fine motor skills. Permit students to return to the book and identify

different letters throughout Ten Orange Pumpkins to further practice recognition and names of

all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet. During this activity, facilitate the learning

environment by checking for student comprehension, assisting students as needed, and

informally evaluating their alphabet knowledge.

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Phonemic Awareness

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2
Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B
Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

Activity to Teach Phonemic Awareness: Pumpkin Phoneme Pastime

This activity is a phoneme segmentation activity where students name the picture,

segment the sounds, and place the picture in the correct pumpkin cup with the number of sounds

the word has. Find, print, and cut out pictures of the following features mentioned in the book: a

scarecrow, a mummy, a ghost, a truck, a bridge, an alligator, a ship, a skeleton, an owl, a moon, a

witch, a bat, a spider, and a cat. Attach each one of those pictures to popsicle stick. Label three

pumpkin cups with the number of sounds each word has (two, three, or four). For example,

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students will identify and name the picture of a cat, segment the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/, and then place

the picture in the correct pumpkin cup with the number three on it. Students may practice this

activity and skill by identifying pictures in Ten Orange Pumpkins, naming them, and

categorizing the word by sound. For example, students may pinpoint a picture of a bat in the

book, segment the sounds /b/ /a/ /t/, and recognize that it belongs in the pumpkin cup with the

number three on it. During this activity, facilitate the learning environment by checking for

student comprehension, assisting students as needed, and informally evaluating their phonemic

awareness.

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Sight Words

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

Activity to Teach Sight Words: Pumpkin Themed Sensory Bottle Game

Use a black permanent marker to write five sight words onto five pumpkin confetti pieces

with the students. Have the students add the five pumpkin words into a recycled bottle filled with

water. Add a few more items, such as orange gems, so they appear to roll like pumpkins as the

bottle is shaken later on. Tightly seal the top of the bottle to avoid any leaks while the students

are at play. Have students draw five pumpkins on a sheet of orange construction paper. Write all

five sight words onto each pumpkin. In order to play the Pumpkin Themed Sensory Bottle Game,

students must shake the bottle and write down the first word they see, or the first word that lads

on the bottom of the bottle, whichever is easiest for them to determine. Students needs to see

each sight word five times before they are finished. Allow students to return to the book and

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identify sight words in Ten Orange Pumpkins to further their understanding. For example, the

words “the,” “are,” “will,” “be,” and “on” will appear in the text. Not only will this activity teach

students sight words, but it will also teach them a valuable lesson on probability and predictions.

During this activity, facilitate the learning environment by assisting students as needed, and

informally evaluating their understanding of sight words.

Analogizing Words

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D
Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

Activity to Teach Analogizing Words: Pumpkin Rhyming Puzzle

Prepare the puzzle by printing and laminating pumpkin seeds and pumpkins that will

eventually make up the puzzle. Each pumpkin seed and pumpkin has a picture on it depicting

two words that are similarly spelled but have letters that differ. For example, the seed will have a

picture of a bee on it, and the pumpkin will have a picture of a tree on it; the seed will have a

picture of a cake on it, and the pumpkin will have a picture of a snake on it, so on and so forth.

Spread out all of the pieces by sorting them with seeds on one side and pumpkins on the other

side. Take turns picking a seed and saying the name of the object. Find the pumpkin that has an

object on it that rhymes with the object on the seed. Make the match! Allow students to return to

the book to find the rhyming words that match with one another to further their understanding.

For example, the words “vine and nine” will appear in the text. During this activity, facilitate the

learning environment by assisting students as needed, and informally evaluating their

understanding of similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

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 Phonics

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Activity to Teach Phonics: Pumpkin Consonant-Vowel-Consonant Puzzle

Prepare the puzzle by printing and laminating pumpkins that will eventually make up the

puzzle. Cut out all of the pumpkins into three pieces. There are twenty puzzles total: one for each

short vowel—a, e, i, o, u. Divide students into five small groups assigning each group a short

vowel. The puzzles provide a small picture in the corner of the piece to help guide students on

what word to build. Sort all the pieces with pictures on them into one pile, and then take turns

pulling a card to see which word puzzle is to be completed. For instance, if a student pulls a

picture of a hat, the puzzle piece will have the beginning sound, /h/, on it. Help the students

decide what other sounds they hear in the word. “Hat… /h/ /a/ /t/.” Next, search for the puzzle

pieces that have an /a/ and a /t/ on them. Continue this process until all the pumpkins are

complete. Allow groups to exchange vowels once they have finished. Permit students to return to

the book to find any words that they spelled in the puzzles that could be found within Ten

Orange Pumpkins to further their understanding. For example, the word “cat” will appear in the

text— /c/ /a/ /t/. During this activity, facilitate the learning environment by assisting students as

needed, and informally evaluating their understanding of phonics.

Conclusion
The activities explained in this shared reading plan benefit emergent readers and writers

by exposing them to concepts, ideas, and rules of reading, writing, and speaking. The activities

effectively teach students imperative concepts of print and book, alphabet knowledge, phonemic

awareness, sight words, analogizing words, and phonics. Students learn all of these components

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as they embark on their journey of literacy development. Young children who are emergent

readers and writers should exhibit specific characteristics, which these activities will help

produce and build upon. The activities are simple yet challenging and interactive, which allows

for students to remain fully engaged in the learning experience. A shared reading plan permits

educators to effectively teach students the fundamentals of reading and writing in order to create

life-long lovers of literacy.